Features / Filming
I didn’t meet Colin Firth, but I left Queen Square with a smile
Filming for upcoming Amazon Prime series Young Sherlock continued on Monday in Queen Square.
The series, directed by Guy Ritchie, will follow a young Sherlock Holmes before he mastered his world-famous detective skills.
Holmes will be played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
is needed now More than ever
Colin Firth joined the cast in June, playing a character called Sir Bucephalus Hodge.
Queen Square has had a Victorian makeover for the period drama – photo: Stella Rogers
With information that Fiennes Tiffin and Firth might be filming, I was sent out to get a photo.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a snap of Firth or Fiennes Tiffin. Filming on Monday seemed to mainly involve extras.
However, although I didn’t find Hollywood stars, I did find a warm sense of camaraderie among fellow onlookers.
As the shoot started, many members of the public stopped as they were passing through and began watching the magic of showbiz.
Many onlookers were taking photos – photo: Stella Rogers
Security staff were happy to answer questions, even sharing what type of food was available at lunch time (gluten free brownies in typical Bristol fashion).
I asked several onlookers if they had seen Firth or Fiennes Tiffin, yet nobody had got lucky. One woman exclaimed, “He’s so hot!”, at the mention of Firth.
At least somebody said what we were all thinking.
Many stopped in their tracks when hearing about who was in the show, waiting patiently to see if any of the stars would make an appearance.
Despite not meeting any A-listers, many chatted about how interesting it was to see a TV show in action.
The constant retakes made many realise that most of an actor’s time is spent waiting.
Maybe the showbiz life isn’t so exciting after all.
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One woman explained to security that her child was an extra in the show, watching proudly as the crew filmed young extras for a scene.
I chatted with another passer-by about how endearing it was to see crew members giving feedback to the children in a playful, encouraging way. For the kids it was just another day playing in the park – the only difference was that they were playing in clothes from the 1800s.
Some people didn’t know what was being filmed and, after getting vague details from security, began asking others. This led to people sharing their love for Sherlock Holmes and expressing excitement for the show’s release.
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Through these discussions I was reminded that word-of-mouth is still a powerful way of making a show popular.
I’m sure a fair amount of people will be tuning in to Young Sherlock just to see their local area transformed into a period drama set.
Amusingly, I overhead a lot of people mixing up Young Sherlock and Young Sheldon. An easy enough mistake to make.
Hopefully, the top hats and horse-drawn carriages eventually made clear what show it was.
As it began to rain, it was funny to see actors in period drama costumes suddenly put on ponchos.
When the rain got so heavy that most of the crew and cast ran off to take shelter, I took that as my sign to leave.
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As I left, I smiled as I reflected on what I had just experienced.
Among the passers-by, I had seen businesspeople on lunch breaks, dog-walkers and tourists all happily chatting with one another about the shoot.
They reminded me of what makes Bristol such a great city.
No matter who you are, if anything out of the ordinary is happening, a Bristolian will be more than happy to chat with you about it.
Instead of getting a snapshot of a famous actor, I got a snapshot of Bristol’s love for community.
So, in my opinion: mission successful.
Main photo: Roger Turner
Read next:
- More filming to take place in Bristol for Young Sherlock
- My heroic efforts trying to find Hero Fiennes Tiffin in Bristol
- Bristol’s Old City transformed for Young Sherlock
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